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A poem and a sonic scape

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A poem and a sonic scape

Happy birthday Sun Ra and Gerard de Nerval

Patti Smith
May 22, 2023
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A poem and a sonic scape

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GOLDEN VERSES 
by Gerard de Nerval

Man, free thinker! do you believe you alone can reason 
In this world where life surges everywhere? 

The forces that are yours are ordered by your freedom, 
But the Universe is missing from all your deliberations. 

Respect an active spirit in the beast: 

Each flower is a soul open to Nature; 

In metal dwells a mystery of love; 

"All things are sentient!” And mold your being. 

Beware of a spying gaze in the blind wall; 

The Word is bound to matter . . . 

Do not set it to profane usage! 

Often in the meanest being a God is hidden; 

And as the eyelid covers the nascent eye, 

The Spirit grows under the surface of stones. 


Translated by Daisy Aldan 

The melancholy poet


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A poem and a sonic scape

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Lee Ann Kane
7 hr ago

My favorite line, and something I need to remember often: "Often in the meanest being a God is hidden." I love that you introduce new-to-me poems and poets who write in French. My second language is French, and I can go search out the originals to blow my mind even more. So awesome.

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Robin Flicker
May 26

I am catching up and listening to this on my own birthday. I love Nerval and am honored to have a birthday near to his. Thank you for this reading.

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